From korma to vindaloo, they all start out the same way
Curry lovers are being confronted with a painful truth about their favourite cuisine after realising that the vast majority of dishes on the menu in a curry house originate from the same base sauce.
If you’ve ever wondered why homemade curries never taste quite the same as the restaurant versions, the answer is that Indian restaurants almost always use a ‘mother’ sauce as a base for all their dishes.
A big pot of gently spiced gravy bubbles away in the middle of the kitchen, and is added to everything from korma to vindaloo.
It is also the reason why curry houses are able to satisfy the vast number of orders that come through in the form of takeaways or just beered-up diners looking to fill a hole.
According to Foodhub data, 11 per cent of Brits eat curry between three to seven times a week with a further 22 per cent eating curry weekly and only 10 per cent saying they never eat it at all.
With over 8,500 Indian restaurants currently operating in the UK, their proprietors had to come up with a way of delivering a large-scale menu at pace and at scale, which is where the base sauce came in.
Writing in the Guardian, Bee Wilson said few foods have been so thoughtfully designed to please its audience as the early curry house menus, which were built solely with British consumers in mind.
“Each day, the chefs cooked up a gigantic vat of “base sauce” which could be adjusted to varying degrees of hotness and creaminess to suit the diners’ tastes”,” she explained.
“That would then be drizzled in a pan of ghee, cooked meat and vegetables.”
One curry house in Barnsley has posted the process for making its base sauce on TikTok, explaining that it goes into 90 per cent of the curries they make.
@cardamom_lounge Our curry base sauce goes into 90% of our curries! Ingredients (all blended together): Oil Salt Garlic paste Ginger paste Tomato purée Onions Potato Carrot Peppers Tomato Water House spice #curryrecipe #currygravy #currysauce #cookingvideo ♬ Piano House 2(840391) – arachang
The sauce consists of onions, carrots, ginger, garlic, turmeric and other spices to create an all-purpose gravy that can then be adjusted and turned into a whole plethora of dishes.
For jalfrezi, chefs simply have to add red peppers and green chillis, while adding yoghurt, garam masala and almonds will transform the same sauce into a pasanda.
Reacting to the video, one person said: “I’ve given up going to Indian restaurant he’s just confirmed what I’ve always thought, whatever you order it all taste the same.”
Another added: “Feel like this should be kept a secret”, while a third said: “I’ve always wondered how Indian restaurants can make so many different dishes so quickly.”
